Service, Virginia on Public Health, Nebraska went to work for Food Production. In Illinois meetings for women of foreign birth were held, at which some of them were taught to speak and understand English, and almost every state had some special interest. The organization extended not only throughout the forty-eight states, but throughout the entire territory under the American flag. The Panama Canal Zone, Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands, the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska were all organized. Thousands of women were already mobilized in special organizations. The Needlework Guild of America had two hundred and fifty thousand women ready to engage in war work, the American Red Cross had enlisted over nine thousand trained nurses, before the conference of June 19, 1917, and ninety-five thousand girls organized as the Camp Fire Girls were working with the Red Cross adopting Belgium babies and canning vegetables and fruits.

Members of the committee made tours of certain states assisting in the organization work of those states. After their organization came the registration. Many private organizations had already registered women for war service, among these was the National League for Woman's Service which sought to register the women of the country who wanted. paid work under government contracts. The General Federation of Woman's Clubs, and the Daughters of the American Revolution, made a thorough registration of their members. When the Woman's Committee, therefore, announced in July, 1917, a general registration of the women of the country, much confusion arose, but by circulars sent widely through the country, by patriotic meetings, and by the use of the movie theaters, the object of the registration was made clear, and the registration carried out effectively.

The work of the Food Conservation Commission was of very great importance. Mr. Hoover's dictum that "Food will win the War" was recognized as prophetic. President Wilson declared, "Every housewife who practices strict economy puts herself in the ranks of those who serve the nation. Secretary Houston, of the United States Department of Agriculture, issued an appeal to the women of the United States, to save food. And when the President

appointed Mr. Hoover as National Food Administrator, one of his first official acts was a call to the women of America. He announced his intention to ask the women to sign a food pledge card. Every effort was made by the Woman's Committee to distribute these cards and have them signed, and if the actual number of signed cards was less than they had hoped, the educational value of the campaign was incalculable.

An immense amount of food was saved as a result of the agitation. Not only did the housewife practice economy but great quantities of food were canned, dried and preserved. In New York City where tons of perishable food are dumped in the river every day, this food was by voluntary labor, sorted, canned and saved. War gardens were instituted throughout the country, and an estimate of the value of the crops raised on back-yard lots shows it to amount to more than $350,000,000. Over 3,000,000 food gardens were planted in 1917, and 119,000,000 quart glass jars were delivered to housewives. This means the conservation of 460,000,000 quarts of food, and in addition several million dollars worth of dried fruits and vegetables were saved.

The work of the Child Welfare Division especially interested the women of the country. Several organizations were already in existence, whose object was to care for the moral and physical welfare of the children. A Children's Bureau in the Department of Labor, headed by Miss Julia Lathrop, of Illinois, had been created, and Miss Lathrop was asked by the Woman's Committee to act as chairman of its Child Welfare Department. The object of the department was to look after the welfare of the children, to keep them in school, and to see that they were decently clothed and well nourished.

The Division on Health and Recreation was interested in the moral and physical welfare of the enlisted men, and was aided by the Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., the Knights of Columbus and other similar organizations. A commission was organized by the War Department to promote rational recreational facilities within and without the camps, and to safeguard the health and morals of the soldiers on land and Under the direction of this commission there were

sea.

authorized directors of music, libraries, theaters, and athletics, and in these activities women took a large part.

The Division on Patriotic Education found a great work to do. There were three million non-English-speaking immigrants in America, and it was necessary to establish for such foreign grown persons night schools where they might learn the English language, and be informed of the nature of the American Government. Various industrial and social agencies joined in a systematic campaign for this purpose-the "America first" campaign, the object of which is to develop an intelligent American life and citizenship. A national committee of one hundred was appointed by the United States Commission of Education, and many educational institutions and industrial organizations, as well as great national organizations, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Y. W. C. A., and the Council of Jewish Women took part in the undertaking. Public mass meetings of women in the interests of patriotic education were held all over the United States at the suggestion of the Woman's Committee. A remarkable work has been done.

The Woman's Committee also took an active part in the various Liberty Loan Campaigns. These were not essentially a woman's activity yet from the beginning the women took an active part in selling and in buying bonds. It is estimated that one-third of all the Liberty Bond buyers were women, and a complete organization was perfected to assist the organizations of the men, in obtaining subscriptions. The Woman's Committee of National Defense turned in the full power of its machinery to assist the Woman's Liberty Loan Committee, and the result amazed not only the national leaders but the women themselves.

Of even greater importance than the work of the women and their great organizations was the work of the women in factories, in the shops, and in the various industries in America. Two millions of women before the war began were included in the ranks of industrial workers, and as millions of men were summoned to the flag, their places were taken throughout the country by loyal and patriotic women. A

movement like this deeply affected various woman's organizations.

One of the most important phases of the question of women in industry is that concerning standards, which especially interested the National Woman's Trade Union League of America. Its president was Mrs. Raymond Robbins, of Chicago. This league adopted the following standards to protect the working women in the industrial field. These standards were: the highest prevailing rate of wages in the industry which the contract affected; equal pay for equal work; those trades where there was no wage standard whatsoever to be placed in the hands of an adjustment committee; all wages to be adjusted from time to time, to meet the increased cost of living, by the committee; the eight-hour day; one day rest in seven; prohibition of night work for women; standards of sanitation and fire protection; protection against over-fatigue and industrial diseases; prohibition of tenement-house labor; exemption from the call into industry of women having small children needing their care; exemption from the call into industry of women two months before and after child birth.

Under the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense there were organized in every state committees for the protection of women and children, which worked in connection with the National Woman's Trade Union League and other similar associations, and the standards established by these organizations were in every instance recognized by the government.

The Committee on Labor appointed by the Council of National Defense, of which Mr. Samuel Gompers became chairman, appointed a sub-committee on Women and Industry, which interested itself in the protection of such women and in their wage standards.

One of the most important phases of the women's work in the war was that connected with their service in the Woman's Bureau of the Red Cross. This work, as well as the work of the Red Cross nurse, and of the Junior Red Cross, was carried on independently of the Woman's Committee, and is described in another chapter.

U. S. BATTLE SQUADRON AT SEA

Photo from Underwood and Underwood, N. Y. Photograph taken from the deck of the U. S. S. "Pennsylvania" showing a squadron of our powerful superdreadnaughts in column. Though these great ships never had an opportunity to come to grips with the German Navy they performed invaluable service in convoying our troops safely across.